Elinor Carucci

NEW YORK—Israeli-born photographer Elinor Carucci is based in New York City, but exhibits her work all around the world. She has had solo shows at the Herzliya Museum for Contemporary Art in Israel, Analix Forever in Switzerland, Fifty One Fine Art Gallery in Belgium and the Gagosian Gallery in London, among others.

And her photographs are included in collections in Europe, Israel and the United States (at MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, ICP, The Jewish Museum and Houston Museum of Fine Arts).

Through her work and travels, Carucci also has developed her own impressive photography collection, built around relationships with fellow artists and photographers. By trading and sharing artwork, she has acquired pieces by Allen Frame, Emmet Gowin and, of course, her husband Eran Bendheim.

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My First Acquisition:

The first piece that I acquired was a black-and-white panoramic photograph called Scream (1995) by Eran Bendheim, who was my boyfriend then and who is my husband today. He took the photograph of two kids in the streets of Nachla’ot, an old area in Jerusalem. It is an intense situation, and I love the tension between the boy and the girl, intensified by the streets of Jerusalem. (There is a mental disorder that is called the Jerusalem Disorder that comes about when people get pushed over the edge, specifically in Jerusalem. It’s something about the city that is in me, too.) I had a very strong emotional reaction to that picture, and I asked him if I could have a print. It was the first print I ever owned. I loved the image and I loved the photographer. Love, emotions and photography are still mixed together in my life today.

My Most Recent Acquisition:

The most recent piece that I acquired is a photograph by Allen Frame called John and Paul, Atlanta, 1995. I traded with Allen for one of my photographs, My Mother and I (2000). I was excited by the emotions that come across. It is an unstaged photograph of two men—lovers, I believe—and they are reaching out to each other. It really is a punch into your heart. I have it on the wall in my bedroom.

Favorite Item in My Collection:

One of my favorite pieces is Emmet Gowin’s Nancy and Dwayne, Danville, Virginia (1970). Again, I traded it for one of my photographs, Haircut (1994). I love the ambiguity. In the photograph you see two children. They were probably playing, but the situation suddenly feels so relaxed and loving that it seems like a romantic situation from a later point in their lives. When I had children, I started to see this myself—moments that seem like a glimpse into their future.

Advice for Beginning Collectors:

The advice that I would give to someone starting out collecting is to trust your emotional reaction to the image. Since my entire collection is made up of images that I love and feel strongly about, this is the only advice I can give, though I am not sure it’s good financial advice necessarily! On the other hand you could make a career as a professional photographer or artist, so you could trade with people you love and admire …